"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." // Mark 10:49

“Take Courage. You are not alone,” I said to each woman as we said farewell. I've been in full-time parish and Catholic non-profit ministry for over twenty-eight years and have often felt alone in the Church—as if my gifts and talents were hidden or my leadership skills should remain unseen and seldom fully used. So, suddenly, to be in a space with lay and religious women living into our giftedness and helping future generations of women live into their giftedness, I felt courageous and alive as if my heart were beating at a different rhythm.  

This had been one of the most astonishing weeks for women in the Church when I attended a forum of the Given Institute. Three hundred young adult women from all over the world were brought together to recognize the gifts God gave us and respond with the gift that only we can give. I realized during this week that it takes courage to step into our gifts and use them for the Church. 

That is why my heart is awakened when Jesus says, "Take courage," in today's Gospel (Mark 10:49). In scripture, Jesus says, "Take heart," or "Take courage," multiple times, to the paralytic (see Matthew 9:2) and the hemorrhaging woman (see Matthew 9:22) and to Peter when he walks on water toward Christ (see Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:50). It is a wake-up call we all need to adhere to.

So take courage, dear sister. Christ is calling us to take courage, to believe that all things are possible through Him, to have hope in healing, and to do what appears impossible because, in Christ, all things are possible. Call out to Him like the blind man in today's Gospel! Reach out to Him in the crowd! Step out of the boat and share the gifts inside you that only you can give to the world. Take courage; you are not alone.